Throughout my childhood, my parents planned multiple family vacations to Disneyland. Since we usually drove eight hours down I-5 to visit my grandparents in San Diego instead of flying (if you’ve ever driven on that freeway in California, you know how monotonous the trip through miles and miles of plain yellow fields can be!) and Anaheim was on the way, it was easy to hop off of the highway and stop at The Happiest Place on Earth for a few days first.
We always stayed at the same hotel, situated just two stoplights away from the freeway and one block from the Disneyland entrance. That made life really easy for my parents… The short little legs of young kids can only walk so fast (and so far before they start complaining!).
As really early risers—my brother and I regularly woke up by 6 am every day—we walked over to the park before most of the crowds arrived and usually were the first in line when the gates opened at 8 am. We spent all morning dashing between the most popular “kiddie” rides, like Dumbo and Peter Pan and the Teacups, before the lines grew too long for our patience.
Then our very smart parents walked us back to the hotel shortly after lunch for a bit of quiet time before we could get tired or cranky (they preferred us taking naps, but my brother and I often refused and silently read books instead!) and swimming in the pool. Sometimes we went back to Disneyland for a couple of hours to squeeze in a few more rides or some souvenir shopping, but other times we just collapsed into bed from exhaustion!
Because theme park food costs an arm and a leg, our parents always packed our own. They filled a backpack with water bottles, apples, fruit snacks, crackers, and a jar of peanut butter for whenever a “rumbly in our tumblies” hit (we loved Pooh Bear!), and we ate PB&J or ham and cheese sandwiches in the hotel room for dinner.
Yet out of all of those meals, I loved breakfast the most. At home, we always poured a bowl of cereal with milk, but since the hotel room lacked a fridge, Mom bought a package of jumbo-sized muffins from the local grocery store bakery as a special treat instead.
As picky eaters, my brother and I only ate one flavor: lemon poppy seed. (We would’ve gladly gone with double chocolate, but Mom drew the “special treat” line there!) And the lemon poppy seed muffins had to be plain… So we always picked off all of the slivered almonds if those were the only ones Mom could find!
Since we were so small, Mom gave us each half of a jumbo muffin morning for breakfast, and I loved every single bite. The sweet lemon flavor… The tiny little barely crunchy seeds… Those moist, tender crumbs… I easily would’ve polished off the second half if she let me. I definitely didn’t care about calories or healthy food back then!
But times have changed, and even though I still love Disneyland just as much, now I want my muffins to be a little healthier than the ones sold from grocery store bakeries. That’s exactly why I created this recipe for the Ultimate Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins! They’re supremely tender and full of that same sunshiny flavor, but they’re made from entirely wholesome ingredients and contain none of the guilt!
This easy recipe begins with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour comes from finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour is made from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, almost like that of all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits of regular whole wheat flour.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be the perfect substitute! I’ve also included my favorite gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section beneath the Instructions, if you prefer.
Many traditional recipes include anywhere from ½ cup to 1 full cup of oil or butter—yikes!! Instead, this lighter version uses just 1 tablespoon of butter, and the rest of the tender texture comes from my favorite ingredient in healthier baking… Greek yogurt! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your baked goods a protein boost, too!
To keep these muffins clean eating friendly, you’ll skip the granulated sugar and sweeten them with a combination of honey and vanilla crème stevia. Vanilla crème stevia is one of my new favorite finds! It’s a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! I usually buy SweetLeaf, which is sold in a small bottle with an eyedropper, and you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
The bright citrus flavor comes from two sources: freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest. The latter actually provides the majority of the sunshiny taste, so don’t skip it! I tested this recipe with varying amounts of zest, and all of my taste testers agreed that a full 2 ½ tablespoons had the best flavor.
The baking instructions are slightly different than your stereotypical muffin recipe. To make the muffins as tall and tender as possible, you’ll bake them starting at 425°F for 7 minutes. Then, without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F for the rest of their baking time.
This brief stint at that really high temperature quickly activates the baking powder and baking soda. Along with an internal burst of steam, this makes the muffin tops rise really fast and stay nice and tall. Yes, it has to be 425°F—just turn your oven into a sauna, and your muffins will be happy!
And once they’ve cooled, so will your belly! ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your muffins and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| The Ultimate Healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins | | Print |
- 2 ½ cups (300g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (13g) poppy seeds
- 2 ½ tbsp (16g) lemon zest, freshly grated (about 3 large lemons)
- 1 tbsp (15g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- 1 ¼ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- 6 tbsp (90mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, poppy seeds, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Mix in the honey and stevia until fully incorporated. Mix in the lemon juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.)
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 425°F for 7 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for an additional 12-15 minutes, or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin cups for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Agave or pure maple syrup may be substituted for the honey.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
The consistency was thick, similar to yours.
Okay, that’s good! Here’s what I’d suggest: bake your muffins at 425°F for 4 minutes, rather than 7. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F without opening the door, and continue to bake for another 15+ minutes. Use the toothpick test (when inserted into the center, it should come out clean) to determine when your muffins are done. I think that modification plus the toothpick test will solve the underdone center issue! 🙂
These turned out great!
I didn’t add the lemon zest, being lazy, and just popped in a pinch of real sugar rather than stevia (i don’t like artificial sugars).
My only issue: i may eat them all before fhe day is done.
That sounds like a delicious issue to have Zara — that’s the best kind of compliment! 😉 I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins!
I made these muffins this morning and I’m very disappointed. The muffins didn’t rise at all, and they definitely have a strange flavor (maybe the stevia?). I will not be making these again.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Danielle! That’s not how these muffins are supposed to turn out, so let’s figure out what happened. 🙂 Did you make any modifications or substitutions, including those listed in the Notes section? How did you measure your flour — with measuring cups or a kitchen scale? How fresh is your baking powder and baking soda? Also, did you use the exact stevia that I called for? The more information you can provide, the better I’ll be able to address the issues you experienced!
I made these muffins exactly as directed and I am very disappointed. They are dry and flavorless. I tasted one and threw them all away. They may be healthy but they do not taste good.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe! That sounds really disappointing, so I’d love to work together to figure out what went wrong. 🙂 Did you use the same vanilla stevia that I did? Did you make any substitutions, including those mentioned in the Notes section of the recipe? How did you measure the flour — with measuring cups or a kitchen scale? The more detail you can provide, the better I’ll be able to help you!
Hi Amy!
I recently made these, however forgot (yes, lol forgot, brain dead moment) to add the stevia. By the time I’d realized it, I’d already cooked half my batch of cupcakes, so I drizzled in some honey in the remaining batter hoping to compensate. It’s still not sweet enough but now I know for next time.
One thing that did surprise me was the consistency of the muffins. Based of your picture, I can see that they appear “cakey” yet still dense. Mine ended up yielding kind of a doughy consistency, and once they were baked the texture didn’t seem quite right. I wonder if it’s because of the substitutions I used? (I swapped for all purpose flour, and I used almond milk rather than regular milk, and of course forgot the stevia). Could this account for the off texture?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Kirsty! I’ve had too many moments like that to count — you’re not the only one! 😉 The all-purpose flour and almond milk substitutions are completely fine. Did you happen to use an electric or stand mixer to make the batter, by any chance? How did you measure the flour, with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you measured? Finally, did you batter have the same consistency as in my video? I know it’s a lot of questions, but they’ll really help us figure out the texture issue and how to solve it! 🙂
Thanks for your response Amy!
I mixed it by hand with a soft spatula (the kind you’re using in the video when you’re putting scoops of mix into the cupcake tray) in alternating partsadding the dry ingredients (stir) and then the milk (stir) to the wet ingredients in sequence. I tried hard not to over mix so I was folding a lot.
I measured the flour with a kitchen scale, putting the bowl on the scale and measuring out the proper weight of flour.
The batter looked similar but admittedly I can only briefly see the consistency in your video. It does look the same although when you mention that over mixing tends to leave them gummy or tough, it sounds like that might be my problem. What do you think?
Thanks so much for your detailed response, Kirsty! That really helps! 🙂 I’m relieved to hear that you measured by weight and used alternating additions. That makes things easier! I’d recommend using a fork to stir for those alternating additions, just like I did in the video, rather than a spatula. A fork disperses the ingredients and mixes them in faster than a spatula, and it could very well be that all of that extra folding with a spatula resulted in overmixing. Does that make sense?
Totally! Can’t wait to give it a second chance. The smell was so spot on, they smelled amazing. I can’t stop trying until the taste matches.
Thanks for your help!
Kirsty
It’s my pleasure, Kirsty! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 I’m excited to hear how your next batch turns out!
Hey, thanks for the amazing skinny recipes….Have started trying out your recipes…..could you mention the weight of each muffin or mini-muffins or cookies
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes, Sonika! I include the fully nutrition information per cookie, mini muffin, etc directly underneath the recipe. Is that what you mean? 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins if you try them!
Tried the peanut butter oat flour cookies….amazing!! Yes I got the nutritional information but wanted to know the weight (in gm / lb) of the individual muffins / mini muffins/ cookies because mine seem to be smaller than those given in the picture
I’m so glad you loved the cookies, Sonika! If you ended up with the same number of treats that the recipe yields (i.e. 12 cookies for the practically flourless peanut butter cookies), then you’re doing just fine! I like to get close-up shots so readers can see the details, so that may be why my treats look a bit bigger in the pictures than yours do in person. 🙂
Amy,
You are my favorite baking guru. Thank you for your detail to attention regarding proper measuring, baking temperatures/times and health substitutes. I am honestly impressed with your knowledge and instructions, and it is the reason why I always refer to your site when I have a bakery craving! Just like your other recipes, I am getting fabulous results that I feel good about eating- which is difficult to do when you love bakery items! I made one batch of the lemon poppy seed muffins with half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose to preserve some of the lighter color of the batter, and I ended up throwing in about 3 tsp of sugar at the end which took away some of the after-taste of my vanilla stevia (I didn’t have vanilla creme, but am hoping to purchase some after I’ve finished the plain vanilla stevia bottle I have). I kept the batch covered and in the refrigerator for a few days and they remained amazing and I did notice that intensifying lemony zest! I highly recommend warming each one in the microwave for 15 seconds before eating them, as the texture becomes much softer! Thank you Amy!
Best, Hannah
Oh my goodness Hannah — you just COMPLETELY made my day!!! Thank you so much for your sweet comment!! I’m truly honored that you’d call me your favorite baking guru. My heart is glowing right now!! 🙂 I’m so glad you loved these muffins, and I love your tip about microwaving them. I definitely need to try that with my next batch!!
Hello, I was hoping to try these and wondered if you think gluten free rice flour would work, and if so- same measurements? Thanks so much!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jen! Rice flour will work as part of a gluten-free blend — I’ve actually included that in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions! I know it can be easy to miss. 😉 I don’t recommend using only rice flour as the gluten-free flour. This is because every gluten-free flour has its own taste and texture, none of which exactly matches wheat flour (rice flour tends to be more grainy!). By creating a blend with multiple gluten-free flours, that better simulates the taste and texture of wheat flour.
Then you’ll also need xanthan gum. Gluten is a protein, which allows muffins to rise and hold their shape after baking. It’s not in gluten-free flours (obviously, from their name! 😉 ), so you need to add something else to prevent the muffins from turning out denser and/or collapsing. That’s what xanthan gum does! 🙂
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
These sound wonderful. I just have two questions. Do you know the approximate amount of calories per muffin?
Also, could I use almond milk as a substitute? Thank you!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Gabby! The full nutrition information, including calories per muffin, is actually included directly underneath the recipe. I’ve also covered your milk question in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions. I know it can be easy to scroll right past both of those! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these muffins!
These were disgusting. The consistency is like Playdoe. I followed the recipe exactly except did not use Stevia. I only wish I had read the comments before because it seems that many people had the same issue. I will not be making these again.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Rachel! That doesn’t sound like how these muffins should turn out at all, so I’d love to work with you to solve those issues. 🙂 What did you use in place of the stevia? Also, how did you measure the flour? Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you used them? Once I know all of that information, we should be able to fix what went wrong!